


The Fairy King's Trial

by Writingishardman



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Anxiety, Aromantic, F/M, Queerplatonic Relationships, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22951090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writingishardman/pseuds/Writingishardman
Summary: Bede knows that he feels strongly for Gloria, so when the girl confesses to him it should be a dream come true. Instead he's met with a combination of overwhelming joy being by her side one second to being uncomfortable and anxious the next. Nothing seems to make sense, nothing seems to be going in the direction a relationship was expected to go. He was lost, confused and trapped in a torrent of emotions that he couldn't get a hold of. Luckily for him, Gloria has some knowledge that could help.(A warning for anxiety attacks if that's something that bothers you)
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	The Fairy King's Trial

**Author's Note:**

> I had initially wanted to get this written and posted on Valentine's day for the aromantics out there on a holiday that just makes no sense for us, but hey. Better late than never?

It wasn’t that Bede never had feelings like this before. He’s had his fair share of crushes. The problem this time around though was the fact that his feelings were directed at Gloria.

Yes. Gloria. The Champion of the Galar region for the last few years. The girl who saved the entire region by taming Eternatus. The same girl who later went on to befriend one of the legendary heroes.

If you asked the boy when all of this started he wouldn’t be able to answer.

Bede doesn’t know exactly when his feelings shifted. At one point he would be nothing but annoyed at Gloria’s sudden and unexpected visits to Ballonlea. He doesn’t remember when his reaction to her reason “I wanted to see how you’ve been doing!” changed from a roll of the eyes and an annoyed shake of his head to him now trying desperately to hide his burning cheeks as she all but hugged the life out of him. When in the name of Arceus did he go from hating her visits to anxiously and desperately hoping she’d come through the Gym’s doors?

Speaking of her visits though, it had been a good minute since the last time she dropped by Ballonlea. She normally made an effort to see him at least once a week. How she had managed such a thing with her insane workload as the Champion he’ll never know.

After making sure the stadium was cleared out he closes the doors for the day. He takes a look at his Rotom phone as he continues on his walk to his home nearby. He’s not surprised to see that the Gym Leader’s chat room was bustling as usual, along with the group chat he had with Hop, Marnie and Gloria. What was slightly out of the ordinary was a direct message from Gloria. What could she possibly want to say to him that she couldn’t have said in the group chat? How odd.

Opening the thread of messages he’s struck with even more surprise.

**Gloria: Hey, Bede! Listen, I know this is kind of out of the blue but I was wondering if maybe we could meet up soon.** ****

Bede quirked an eyebrow at the words on his screen as he pauses on his walk home. If she wanted to speak with him then why not just come see him in Ballonlea like she normally would?

**Bede: I suppose I could spare some time, although I must ask why you couldn’t just come see me in Ballonlea like you normally would if you wanted to talk?**

He pockets his phone as he continues towards his house. It was a small modest home he was able to acquire thanks to his job as Gym Leader, of course he still made an effort to visit Opal regularly. The old woman may have many years on her but she’s still going as strong as she had been when Bede first met her. 

As he finally reaches the front door to his home he’s stopped by the ping of his phone. As he makes his way inside he looks at his notifications and sees Gloria had responded.

**Gloria: Well, it’s just that this is something I’d rather talk to you about more privately if that’s alright with you?**

Privately? Oh. Well this certainly piqued his interest.

**Bede: If you insist. When and where would you like to meet then?**

He’d humor her this time. It wasn’t because he would really love to spend time alone with her. Nope. Not at all.

-x-x-x-x-

A couple days later found Bede at the Meetup Spot. Gloria insisted that be their location for whatever it was she needed to speak to him about. He arrived earlier than the time they had agreed upon. Whether it was a mistake or not was up to debate because now the minutes seemed to tick by much more slowly as his anxiety made his skin buzz as he anticipated Gloria’s arrival. Oh, Hatterene would have a field day with him if he were to release her now.

“Hey Bede!” a very familiar voice sounds behind him causing him to turn. “I hope I didn’t leave you waiting too long,” she says.

“Not at all, I just like arriving early,” Bede shrugs. “So. What could you possibly have to say that you’d need to meet with me out here?”

At the question Gloria becomes visibly nervous.

“I’ll uh, tell you in a minute,” she says. “But for right now how about we just take a bit of a walk and maybe find a nice place for a quick battle?”

“Well, that’s more like it,” Bede replies, all of his thoughts now on the idea of a potential battle against his greatest rival.

-x-x-x-x-

“It’s just. . . I like you, Bede. As more than a friend,” Gloria’s voice was hardly above a whisper as she spoke to Bede after their battle.

“Oh. . .” is all Bede manages to say as he’s hit with a whirlwind of emotions at the newfound knowledge.

He wasn’t new to crushes.

He certainly was new to his feelings being reciprocated. His heart was pounding, voice caught in his throat. What should he say? Should he admit his own feelings? If he did, what would that mean? Would they pursue a relationship? What were relationships like? The only relationship he’d ever had until now was back in the orphanage when he was a small boy. Even then it was because the girl insisted and he wasn’t really interested in her. They were only seven years of age at that point.

“I’m sorry,” Gloria’s voice snaps him back from his racing thoughts. “I know I should have kept it to myself, but I really wanted you to know. I understand if you don’t feel the same-”

“No!” Bede interrupts a little louder than he’d meant to, startling Gloria in the process. “I mean, no, don’t be sorry. I-” he braces himself. “I feel the same about you,” he admits in a soft voice.

He manages to meet Gloria’s gaze, brown eyes sparkling with emotions so strong Bede was almost certain he could feel them. 

-x-x-x-x-

Their first official date as a couple wouldn’t be for another couple of weeks as Gloria’s workload increased and Bede found himself busy in Ballonlea. The two decided on going out to dinner and perhaps taking a walk to the lighthouse in Hulbury.

Bede had never felt this level of nervousness. His anxiety causing him to feel like circuits of electricity were passing through his veins. He takes a quick look at himself in the mirror, having chosen some nicer clothing for the occasion, hoping Gloria would like the look.

He was going on a date with Gloria. The thought kept repeating itself, his nerves riding high.

He looks at the time. He should really get going. Looking back to his reflection he sees himself tense, nervous and anxious.

Scared even.

He closes his eyes to calm himself. A deep breath. This was Gloria. It was only Gloria. His best friend. There was no reason to feel so worked up. 

He sighs. He was just going to spend time with Gloria. Hanging out with his best friend. There was nothing to be scared of.

-x-x-x-x-

He wasn't sure where his anxiety had come from but it seemed to stay away as he and Gloria enjoyed their meal, the two chatting as they normally would. Spending time with Gloria was always a highlight for him.

He very much enjoyed her company, probably more than he's willing to admit.

He insists on paying the bill, Gloria agreeing only when Bede agreed to her terms of him letting her cover the expenses for their next date.

Bede involuntarily cringed at the word, his anxiety bubbling back up as they made their way outside.

They decided to take a walk, the cool evening air helping to relieve his spike of anxiety as he and Gloria walked side by side in close proximity.

"Let's head to the lighthouse, Nessa always tells me about how amazing the ocean looks as the sun sets," she says excitedly as she grabs a hold of Bede's hand. 

His heart skips as she threads her fingers with his own. Snapping from his surprise he gives her hand a gentle squeeze as a blush dusts his pale cheeks.

"Well, alright. If you want to," he agrees as he meets Gloria's brown gaze.

The warmth he sees in her eyes makes him melt, all of the tension leaving his body as he focused on the warm fuzzy feeling building in his heart as he focused his attention on their joined hands and her tender gaze.

He'd never experienced such a gentle yet overwhelming joy like this before.

He'd be lying if he said it wasn't addicting.

-x-x-x-x-

He’d expected these feelings of anxiety to go away after the first few dates but unfortunately it persisted. He wasn’t sure if it was normal or not, but he did know he didn’t very much like the feeling.

“Bede, dear, didn’t you have a date with Gloria tonight?” Opal asks the boy as he enters the Gym’s main lobby.

“Yes,” he answers, his anxiety returning tenfold. “We have a d-, we’re going out tonight, but a little later than usual, she had something come up,” Bede explains, his body seemingly defiant against using the "D" word.

There was something about the implications of the word that made Bede uncomfortable. He couldn't seem to explain it.

He didn’t understand why it felt so wrong on his tongue.

-x-x-x-x-

The two had gone to Wyndon to watch a film together. Bede was happy when Gloria explained that she simply wanted to watch the new Brycenman movie.

Bede never understood romance movies. They bored him to no end. So an action film was a much more welcome option. Gloria claimed that despite them being together she still wouldn't give in to the romantic movie cliché. He was more than okay with this.

After the movie he offers to walk Gloria to her apartment which was a few blocks down, the girl having moved to Wyndon after becoming Champion.

The two walk together, hand in hand as Gloria gushed over the movie. Bede couldn't help the smile on his face as he looked at how excited and happy she was over it.

Her childlike excitement annoyed him once upon a time, but now it was more endearing than anything. A familiar and warm feeling blossoms in his chest.

They arrive at the door to her apartment, she invites him in but he declines. He couldn't get distracted here too long, he had things to do early the following day so it was probably best for him to head back to Ballonlea.

"Thanks for going with me. I wasn't sure if you liked movies much. I had fun," she says as she wraps her arms around him in a hug.

"Of course. I hate to admit it but I think even watching paint dry would be fun with you around," Bede says with a small laugh as he returns the gesture, his arms pulling the shorter girl closer.

They hold each other for a few more seconds as Bede nuzzles Gloria's hair, the boy then placing a quick kiss atop her head before they pull apart completely. A cute tinge of pink glowed across the girl's face as she said good night and entered her apartment after Bede says good night in return.

He turns to make his way to a Flying Taxi, a spring in his step as he recalls the warm and pleasant feelings Gloria instills in him.

This girl was going to be the end of him.

-x-x-x-x-

Bede was in Hammerlocke running some errands when he came upon a rather intriguing magazine. The cover was a photo of him and Gloria from last season where the two had faced off in the finals. But that wasn't what had caught his eye, what caught his attention were the large bold letters reading 'From rivals to boyfriend and girlfriend!' plastered over the top.

He stiffens at the words, feeling uncomfortable as he sets the magazine back down.

Perhaps it was best he pretended that he didn't see that?

-x-x-x-x-

“I actually prefer the term ‘partner’ myself,” Gloria explains to Bede as they spoke about the magazine he had seen a few days ago, the two overlooking the Wild Area from the Motostoke Outskirts.

“Is that so?” Bede wonders. “Partner,” he tests the word on his tongue.

He liked that quite a lot, actually. It felt right. Natural. It flowed off of his tongue and it didn’t seem to snag on it like the term ‘girlfriend’ did.

He liked it.

“Yes, I think I prefer it, too,” he confirms to Gloria with a smile.

Gloria returns the smile. Bede can’t help but look into her eyes, the setting sun making them even more stunning than they already were. The warmth he found there made his heart sing as Gloria moved to hug him. 

Bede doesn’t waste a second to return her embrace.

-x-x-x-x-

“I-I should get going, I have an early morning tomorrow,” Bede stammers out as he pulls away from Gloria.

His heart was hammering in his chest, breathing was difficult, his hands were cold and clammy and his skin prickled with a feeling like static.

“Of course,” Gloria replies, her smile warm as always. “I had fun. Thanks again,” this time she leans back in for another embrace.

“I had fun, too,” Bede responds as he embraces her again, his previous tension disappearing for a moment as he takes in her scent to soothe his nerves.

They pull away again, the two saying their good-byes for the night. His anxiety returns full force as he sees that look in Gloria’s eyes again. The same look from a few moments ago where they had been holding each other close as they stood outside of Gloria’s mother’s home after their recent outing. That warm and yet loving gaze should have made him feel comfortable and safe but instead it made anxiety jolt through him, fraying his nerves as he feared that perhaps Gloria would attempt to kiss him.

He wasn’t ready for that. He didn’t want that. But shouldn’t he? They’d been together for a couple of months now, it was only natural, wasn’t it?

Regardless of what his mind was telling him his body reacted on its own and after seeing that look in Gloria’s eyes it made to push itself away from her. To put distance between them because he was not ready for what he’d assumed Gloria was looking for.

Seeing that look again, he quickly turns around and makes for Wedgehurst to call a Flying Taxi.

All the while he remembers that look. His stomach doing flips, his heart in his throat, air difficult to take in.

He stops on Route 1 unable to calm himself as the image keeps in his mind. He slides down against a stone wall, bringing his knees to his chest as he does what he can to keep hold of any control he has. 

What was this? Why was he feeling this way? The evening had been wonderful up until he made to leave Gloria at her mother’s place.

The memory plagues his mind. The way Gloria looked up at him timidly in his embrace, the way her hands tugged at his jacket to pull him closer as an unfamiliar sparkle gleams in her eyes as she seemed to contemplate an idea.

_Air, he needed air._

Gloria had leaned in ever so slightly.

Bede had wanted to run.

Why?

-x-x-x-x-

  
  


He knew something wasn’t right. When he saw others in relationships they reacted so differently to their partners than he did with Gloria. 

How was it possible for something to feel so right yet so _wrong?_

He cares for Gloria more than anyone else in his life. Seeing that warm smile directed at him made his heart soar. Hearing her laugh was music to his ears. Embracing her in hugs and light cuddles, holding her hand and sharing kisses on the cheek was the best and most warming and comforting feeling he’s ever experienced.

So then why did he have these moments of anxiety in between it all? He had broken down and he hadn’t the slightest idea why. Nothing made sense.

He wanted to get out of the relationship.

At the same time he loved it more than anything and couldn’t bear to end it.

He didn’t want to be another of Gloria’s friends. He wanted to mean more than that because he definitely felt strongly for her. She was more than just a friend.

He needed to speak to someone about this. Someone who wasn’t Gloria. He didn’t want to mention anything to her in case she misunderstood him.

He decided the best person to talk to would be Marnie.

He heads to Spikemuth.

-x-x-x-x-

“Oh, Bede?” Marnie looks at him in surprise as she opens the door to her apartment in Spikemuth. “What a surprise. Come in.”

“Thank you, Marnie,” Bede replies, his throat feeling tight.

“What brings you all the way out here?” she asks as she offers him a seat on the sofa. “Would you like some tea?”

“N-no, I’m alright,” he curses the audible tremor in his voice.

“Bede?” Marnie asks in concern. “What’s the matter?”

“Marnie, I wanted to talk to you about some problems I’ve been having with Gloria if that’s alright,” he says in a soft voice.

As Marnie sits next to him he recounts his bouts of nervousness. The uncontrollable anxiety. His emotional meltdown. The sheer amount of discomfort he couldn't seem to shake off.

How he wanted to end the relationship but didn’t want to at the same time.

He explained that he wanted to be more than just Gloria’s friend, but anything romantic seemed to set him into flight mode.

“Do you have romantic feelings for Gloria?” Marnie asks.

“Well, yes,” Bede answers. “She’s definitely more than just my friend. I don’t feel this way about my other friends, like you or Hop. It’s just Gloria. I'd go so far as to say I love her," he confesses.

Marnie gives him a thoughtful look.

"I don't want to sound like a downer or anythin' but lovin' someone is different from bein' _in love_ with them," she says quietly.

Bede's heart drops.

She's right, isn't she?

-x-x-x-x-

Gloria started using pet names. More specifically she started referring to Bede as ‘babe’.

He hated it.

Every time she’d text that word, every time she spoke it Bede had this feeling that nearly made him sick, that one damned word caused him so much discomfort.

He couldn’t bring himself to ask her to stop. She seemed to enjoy calling him that and he wasn’t about to take that from her. He'd get used to it eventually, right?

At one point he thought perhaps he could give it a try himself.

Every time he’d attempt to say the word his mind would grind to a halt, the word catching in his throat. How could a word feel so wrong? How could the mere thought of speaking a word make him feel so unsettled and uncomfortable?

He couldn’t say it.

-x-x-x-x-

Weeks went by. Everything felt right. Everything felt wrong.

Nothing made sense.

“Bede, dear,” Opal’s voice snaps him from his thoughts and back to the patio outside of the old woman’s home where the two were enjoying some afternoon tea.

“Oh, I apologize, I hadn’t meant to space out like that,” he murmurs.

“You’ve been much more quiet and withdrawn lately,” the old woman points out. “Is everything alright?”

He pauses. Looks to Opal. Perhaps she knew what was wrong with him? With her many years of experience surely she had to know _something_.

“N-no, not really,” he admits as he sets his tea down.

“Oh? Well, you know you can speak to me about anything, my dear boy.”

“I know,” he pauses. “It’s just, I’m not even sure what the problem is myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s about Gloria and I.”

“Has something happened between you two? An argument?” she asks with concern.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Bede reassures, this just causes a look of confusion on Opal’s face.

“Then what is it?”

“Well, I’ll try to explain it the best that I can, but I don’t know how much sense it’ll make.”

“I’ll do my best to help, you know that.”

“I like Gloria a lot. I see her as more than just a friend. . . I like spending time with her, I like being physically affectionate to a degree. I don’t know what it is, but it terrifies me whenever it seems like she’s going to try to kiss me on the lips. We’ve been together for six months now, I feel like I should have had the urge to kiss her by this point, but instead the idea of doing so seems more repulsive than anything,” he explains, Opal listens silently. “Six months and I still get unnecessarily nervous when we plan to go out. She’s using pet names now and Opal I hate it. I hate it so much. I can’t even make myself call her anything but her name because it just feels _wrong,_ And then there was that night where I just broke down out of the blue and I still can’t figure out _why._ ”

Opal looks at Bede, thoughts swimming in her gaze like minnows.

“Tell me, Bede. What is it that you think to yourself to stop this anxiety from getting to you?” she asks.

Bede takes a moment as he thinks back to all of his near breakdowns.

“I. . .I just remind myself that this is Gloria. My best friend. That I have nothing to be scared about because all I’m doing is spending time with my friend and that nothing has really changed,” he answers thoughtfully. “What does that mean?”

“You wish to have a deeper connection with Gloria, don’t you?” Opal asks, Bede gives a small nod. “Do you wish to do so without any romantic implications? No kissing, no pet names, no dates.”

“Yes! That’s exactly it!” Bede can’t help but blurt out.

“But you’d still want the same depth to the relationship as you would a romantic one? For that relationship to mean more than a simple friendship?” Bede nods again. “You still want physical affection to exist but without romantic implication, a relationship more meaningful than what friendships usually are but without having the romantic feelings involved?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. That is what I want. But I don’t want this to be something like friends with benefits, I’m not interested in that kind of relationship. But that’s the only thing that seems to come close to what I’m feeling,” Bede sighs.

“Tell me, dear. Have you ever had romantic feelings for anyone before?”

“I. . .” he was about to say yes but then his mind thinks to his current relationship.

He didn’t seem to want the same things that were normally expected in a romantic relationship. He cares for Gloria deeply, but romantically? Sure, she made him happy. Speaking with her, spending time with her was the best thing in the world. His feelings were strong. She was more than just a friend, that much was for certain. But has he ever felt romantic feelings before?

He never understood romantic relationships now that he thinks about it. Romance movies, plays, music and novels never really had an impact on him. None of it ever made much sense. Sure some of those romantic scenes were cute, but whenever people mentioned that they wished they could have something like that Bede would think about it happening to himself. He never liked the ideas. He couldn’t understand it.

Romance made him anxious because he didn’t feel it. He didn’t know what he was supposed to be feeling. He hadn’t known what he was expected to feel. Something that was supposed to come naturally but never did.

“. . . No. . .” he answers at last.

What was wrong with him?

-x-x-x-x-

**Bede: Gloria, do you think it would be possible to meet up soon? There are some things I’d like to discuss with you.**

**Gloria: Yeah, of course, no problem.**

-x-x-x-x-

He spilled everything out to her. Out on the same hill where she had done the same. He told her about his anxiety, his confusion, his discomfort.

His pain.

Her eyes seemed to reflect his pain as his voice cracked as he tried to explain everything he felt from deep in his heart.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” he says in frustration. “How can I possibly feel this way about you but then dislike these things that should come naturally in a relationship like this? What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Bede, there is nothing wrong with you,” Gloria reassures as she stops herself from embracing the boy. Physical contact probably wasn’t a good idea when he was like this.

“How can you possibly say that after everything I’ve just confessed to you?” he asks, completely baffled by Gloria’s mostly calm demeanor. Wasn’t he supposed to be the calm and collected one here?

“Because it’s true. There isn’t anything wrong with you. You’re just wired a little differently,” she says.

“Wired differently? What is that supposed to mean?” Bede gawks.

“You like me, right?”

“Yes, of course! I thought I’d made that blatantly clear.”

“But nothing you feel for me is actually romantic in nature, right?”

“N-no. . . I don’t believe it is,” he admits quietly. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you as more than a friend,” he reaffirms. “It’s just I seem to be in this middleground, stuck between friendship and romantic feelings.”

“It is possible to have platonic feelings for someone,” Gloria states.

“Doesn’t that just mean liking someone as only a friend?” he asks in bewilderment, still unsure how he should feel about Gloria being seemingly unfazed by anything he’s said to her while he struggled to even make sense of his own thoughts.

“Not really. There’s much more to it than that. From everything you’ve told me it sounds like you’re somewhere on the aromantic spectrum,” she answers.

“The what?” Bede asks with a raised brow.

“Aromantic spectrum. Have you never heard of aromanticism?” she asks with a slight tilt of her head.

“If I had would I be asking what that is?”

“Well,” she begins as she takes out her Rotom phone quickly typing something in. “Here, read this.”

Bede takes Gloria’s phone and reads the page she has opened.

A person who experiences little to no romantic attraction? He had no idea such a thing had ever existed. This couldn’t possibly be him though. He had feelings for Gloria, he was sure of it. The way he felt about her was different from anything he’d feel with someone who was only a friend. He furrows his brow in a thoughtful expression as he continues his reading. He feels his heart nearly stop as one line catches his attention:

_'People identifying as aromantic can also experience romance in a way otherwise disconnected from normative societal expectations (for example due to feeling repulsed by romance, or being uninterested in romantic relationships.)'_

Suddenly everything begins clicking into place. This was it. After all this time he’s finally found some answers.

“How do you know about this?” Bede asks, stunned.

“My brother Victor is aromantic. Well, aro-ace, short for aromantic asexual,” she replies simply. “He doesn’t experience romantic crushes but he does get the aromantic equivalent. Here, there’s a page on that, too. It might help you,” she says as she reaches over and opens a new page.

_‘A squish is the_ _aromantic counterpart for a crush. A squish is a strong desire for some kind of platonic (nonsexual, non romantic) connection to another person.’_

Oh. Now this did sound like him.

_‘There can be a fine line between a crush and a squish. Both crushes and squishes could involve persistent thoughts about the person of interest, self-consciousness around that person, desires to be with them, fantasies about physical (not necessarily sexual) contact with them, or any combination of these.’_

Okay, so this _really_ sounded like him. Had someone just been observing him this whole time and recording all of his behavior? What kind of magic was this?

_‘In both cases emotional attachment can be formed toward the target of the crush/squish, regardless if it is reciprocated.’_

Clearly he had quite the attachment to Gloria, so this certainly rang true.

_'The type of the relationship is defined upon the desired actions and the actions shared between the pairing. Romantic relationships, or desired romantic relationships, frequently hold more romantic or 'loving' behaviors versus a platonic relationship, or desired platonic relationship, where the purpose is to know them well and be close. The lines between the two frequently become blurred with one transforming into another.’_

How simple. The answers are all here. He wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t alone. There were others like him. All the tension that had been building within him since he had started his relationship with Gloria seemed to almost disappear in an instant, evaporating like dew.

He hands the phone back to Gloria, chancing a glance at her. Their eyes meet, her brown gaze fixed on him expectantly.

“How you had managed to find something online like this that described and explained every torturous emotion I’d had to endure for the last few months I’ll never know,” Bede says quietly.

“So I take it that this helped?”

“Helped? This alone answered so many of my questions, it put a name to all of the things I’ve been feeling,” he answers. “All this time I felt like there was something horribly wrong with me!” Bede adds with a nervous laugh.

“I’m glad I was able to help,” Gloria smiles warmly at him causing his heart to skip.

“As much as I relate to all of this, I’m still not going to refer to you as my ‘squish’,” Bede states. “Even if it does describe how I feel about you I refuse to use such a poorly made up name for such a complicated set of emotions. Who the hell came up with that name?” he scoffs.

“Aw, but Bede! It’s cute!” Gloria pouts.

“You and I seem to have wildly different ideas of what ‘cute’ is,” Bede says with a light laugh.

A calm silence falls over them for a few moments, both of them lost in thoughts.

“Bede,” Gloria begins. “I feel very strongly about you. You’re my closest friend. Honestly calling you just a friend doesn’t seem to do justice to how much you mean to me. . .And it's because I care that I want you to know that you don’t need to continue staying in this relationship with me if you aren’t comfortable. I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay together because you don’t want to hurt me or something. I know how you can be sometimes. If there’s anything about you that can’t be questioned it’s that you are as stubborn as a Mudbray.”

Bede’s gaze finds Gloria’s once again, the amount of passion burning in those deep brown eyes was almost enough to overwhelm him. She was serious about this, wasn’t she?

“I’m honestly still unsure about all of this. I don’t want what we have to end. I’d like to take a step back and take it in a different direction if anything. What I feel for you may not be romantic affection but I still most definitely see you as more than just a friend. My feelings about that are clear. I care about you, Gloria,” he pauses briefly as he thinks over his next thought. “I. . .may not be _in_ love with you and may never be, but I _do_ love you,” he confesses, a blush rising to his cheeks as he forces himself to look the girl in the eyes so that she knew how serious his words really were.

“I care about you a lot too, Bede,” she replies as she holds his gaze, a light pink visible on her face as well. “And honestly, I love you. You mean more to me than you’ll probably ever know.”

The rising warmth in his chest and the thumping of his heart was both pleasant and exhilarating as Gloria closed the space between them with a much needed hug. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but think about how negatively he would have reacted to Gloria’s confession had she said those words to him yesterday while his emotions were still a confusing mess. Of course, they weren’t completely sorted yet but he was much more at peace than he had been in the last six and a half months he’s spent as Gloria’s partner.

After a few moments Gloria breaks away again.

“I won’t press anything onto you right now,” she murmurs. “I want you to take some time and really think about everything and for you to come to terms with what you’re really feeling. For right now we’ll leave things as they are and we’ll talk about this again when you’ve gotten yourself into a better mental space, alright?”

He nods in agreement.

-x-x-x-x-

It had been seven months since Bede had last felt comfortable in his relationship with Gloria. It took six and a half months to realize the true nature of his feelings. After his discovery of being aromantic he took some time to reflect. He certainly cared a great deal for Gloria. She meant the world to him, even if he wasn’t capable of feeling anything romantic. He couldn’t express how lucky he was that she was so understanding of his newfound orientation.

After he expressed his desire to remain in a relationship with her they settled on establishing a queerplatonic relationship as she called it. He was still learning all of these fancy terms he’d never heard of before. It was going to be a new experience for both of them as Gloria admitted she’d never gotten involved in a QPR and explained that they were all different.

“Zucchini?” Bede asks with a raised brow.

“Yes! So, you know in romantic relationships you call your significant other your boyfriend or girlfriend?” Gloria says.

“I am aware.”

“Well, in QPRs they don’t really have a term for a queerplatonic partner outside of saying that mouthful, so someone made a joke about calling them their ‘zucchini’ instead. Isn’t that cute?” Gloria laughs.

“Gloria, there is no way in hell I’m calling you my ‘zucchini’!” Bede barks.

“You just did though?”

“I hate you.”

“Love you, too.”

Gloria was definitely going to be the end of him.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was somewhat enjoyable. It's a bit different from things I'd normally write but I've wanted to write this for a bit now and decided why not? I've really begun liking Bederia. Anyway, any constructive criticism is always appreciated, I know my writing can be all over the place sometimes. s e n d h e l p.


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